This looks like a pile of food scraps. Ok, it is a pile of food scraps. And so much more. Mixed in there is a whole lotta love and energy and beauty.

I had nothing to do with this pile of beauty other than joyously eating EVERYTHING that was made from the other more edible parts of these plants. So, I suppose I played my part quite well, thank you very much.

This past Memorial Day weekend, I spent some time at my cousin’s home in Katonah, NY. They had a lovely party with delectable food and even more delectable people.

I was quickly reconnected to the joy I have for cooking and for being around deep like-minded people. Ahhh, so refreshing. First the cooking … as I mentioned, I cooked none of it. However, watching others easily and lovingly move around the kitchen reminded me of, well, me. I look forward to the day that I make that an important part of my life again. And especially to having someone to share that with.

Even more importantly, obviously, were the people I met. I haven’t talked that much in a loooong time! Ok, yes, I was drinking. And that may have contributed slightly to my seemingly excessive talking (or a lot … who knows, I was drinking). When I find myself conversing with like-minded people, I have soooooo much more to talk about and it’s soooooo much less scary to share who I am.

I was a very quiet shy gal growing up and really only until a few years ago. However, many people have told me that they never saw me as shy. Man, it is so interesting what we tell ourselves. So, at this point in my life, I seek and manifest other similarly fabulous humans that I feel comfortable being my true self with. And I can tell rather quickly when we are not on the same page (only took 39 years! … and still learning …). These 2 wonderful new humans were so easy to talk with, to share with and we had a whole lot in common. I felt like I talked waaaaaay too much, and didn’t inquire as much about them. I have a million questions I could’ve asked (and still can, thanks to technology and connections). They were incredibly interesting deep passionate amazing beings. I love being reminded that they truly do exist out there! And that I am welcoming more and more of them into my world. Woot woot! Ok, so back to my story (am I talking too much again?!) … since I didn’t speak much for a good chunk of my life, when I do, it tends to feel like I’m talking too much or overpowering the conversation. Because it feels different and uncomfortable. Interestingly though, it also feels exciting and satisfying. A bit confusing for me to process sometimes. I need to get used to it though. Talking. Speaking my truth. Sharing who I am. I am so grateful for the people that welcome that and are open to that and embrace my truth. Ahhh, so refreshing.

My gratitude also extends to Greg and Elise for a wonderful party and a relaxing Monday and for also accepting me as me.

So this happened for the first time ever in my life. I know, I know, some of you are thinking how the hell has this gal never made hummus until now?! Welp, I can’t really answer that. However, I can now say that I have made hummus from scratch. And that shit was goooood. I even made the chick peas from scratch. Fancy, I know. The first batch I made with fresh lemon juice. Then realized I had enough chickpeas left (but no lemon left) to make another batch to freeze. So I used doTERRA lemon essential oil and YUM. Like seriously, YUM. Definitely a different flavor as essential oils are more intense, yet equally delicious. I always seem to make do with what I have layin’ around ;)

Chicken soup is so easy to make and one of the healthiest things to eat. OH, and quite delicious too. Even I ask myself, “why don’t I make this more often?” The bones are where it’s at though; the meat is secondary and not important at all for the immune-boosting nutritious benefits. So, I buy chicken bones from the grocery store. And at Thanksgiving, I take the giant carcass home. And if I roast a chicken, I keep all the bones for soup … a 2-in-1 meal! Then, as you can see from the photo, I add a whole bunch of other delicious nutritiousness…

Literally, this is how easy it is to make soup: Throw bones in a big pot. Fill pot with water. Chop any and all veggies (For this one, I used carrots, turnips, celery, onion) and throw in the pot. Add spices that you like (I used lots of turmeric, cayenne, parsley, oregano, black pepper, thyme, seaweed flakes, bay leaves, fresh garlic). And that beautiful red pile is goji berries (optional, of course). Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2.5-3 hours. Toward the end of cooking, I also added freeze-dried shiitake mushrooms and sea salt. Your house will smell amazing, but you may have to keep walking outside and back in so you can get the full aroma again and again.

There’s really no need to measure, as you can’t mess it up. The most important part is the bones, so if that’s all you have in there, then you’re golden! If it makes too much, throw half in the freezer when you need some immune boosting in your life.

What you need to make this edible gift from the heavens: bacon (the real pig kind), dates (I use Medjool), raw/marcona almonds or cheese (or go crazy and do both). Pit the dates, stuff them with 2 almonds and/or cheese and roll some bacon around that bad boy. I like thick-cut bacon, so I only used half a slice per date. To keep it all together and for ease of eating, feel free to poke a toothpick through the center. Carefully place these little angels in a shallow oven-proof dish and cook in a 375 degree oven until the bacon reaches your crispy liking. And then prepare to be transported to a sweet and savory orgasmic place …

I have had this recipe on my mind to try for a few weeks now: Raw Cashew Custard. Finally whipped it up today which took 5 whole minutes (plus the effortless 2+ hours to soak the nuts). You seriously need to try this. Use it as a yogurt replacement on top of fresh fruit or simply sprinkle cacao nibs and sea salt on top (as shown above) or eat it as is. Any which way, it’s mmm mmm good.

“If you don’t have a clear passion, and somebody blithely tells you to go follow your passion, I think you have the right to give that person the middle finger. Because that’s like somebody telling you that all you need in order to lose weight is to be thin, or all you need in order to have a great sex life is to be multiorgasmic: That doesn’t help!” -Elizabeth Gilbert, BigMagic

Well, being multiorgasmic COULD help, but I’m not here to write about that, soooo …

“Go follow your passion” is something so many of us have said or heard. I’ve said it to myself and had it said to me a whole bunch of times. I knew what my passion was in a general sense, but not enough to just quit what I was doing and go follow it. Now, as some of you know, I did actually quit what I was doing a little over a year ago. I just knew I couldn’t continue doing the passionLESS job and life I’d been doing, so I went in search of new adventures. At that point, my passion still had no legs to stand on. All I knew was that I wanted to do something in holistic wellness and something creative. Well, I suppose that’s something of a start, but there are literally thousands of things to do in either of those career genres.

I struggled for months to figure out what my passion looked like through researching jobs and different types of holistic wellness options and through drawing and hand-lettering. Nothing screamed PASSION to me until I discovered IIN (Institute for Integrative Nutrition) on the handy-dandy Facebook. This was the second time we’d crossed paths on FB. The first time I saw it, I was slightly intrigued, then kept swiping to capture photos of other people’s children and where someone I don’t remember from high school is now eating dinner with their friend I never knew. But, hey, that first time, I wasn’t in the right place to realize that IIN would lead me to half of my passion.

This second time struck something. Once again, there was intrigue, yet stronger this go around. In lieu of scrolling down FB any further, I went right to IIN‘s website; sent a request for more information; got a call shortly after from Pablo (I still remember his name, which has to mean something!) who described the program fully and eloquently, and I could feel my excitement growing at every word (maybe I am writing about being multiorgasmic); found out that my amazing Life Coach graduated from this program; and I signed up a week later. It felt right. I was being pulled to do it. I had finally found something solid that I was passionate about. And I was so fucking ready for it!

This happened almost a year ago. I started the program middle of January 2016, and I will be graduating in less than 2 months. Wow, Time, where have you gone?!? Throughout these past 10 months, it has become more and more apparent that health coaching is exactly where I should be. I am so excited to guide others on their own journey to health and happiness (I know, cliche, right?). My focus is working with women, in their 20s-40s, who are unhappy in their careers and struggling with managing all levels of stress, in order to help them find and live their truth and passion every day.

There’s that word passion again …

The word Elizabeth Gilbert prefers is curiosity. Try anything and everything you may be slightly or largely (and everything in between) curious about and see where it leads you. I have been curious about millions of things since entering this world and this curiosity has taken me on many adventures. Being curious about IIN led me to finding my passion. One passion at a time though, as I’m still working on the something creative part. I’ll let my creative curiosity run wild and see where that leads me ;) stay tuned …

If you’re curious to try a 60-minute complimentary health consultation, let your curiosity lead you to my inbox … dleuzzi@gmail.com

My first stab at ratatouille. It’s not just a cute movie and I’m not a cute rat chef (well, the cute part is dead on). I made it in the crockpot … easy and delicious and lots of leftovers. I love food and especially leftover food. I added ground beef to mine to make it a bigger dish (as we had family over) and more satiating. Served it over quinoa and voila!

I’ve had this post sitting in my drafts for months … not sure why I hadn’t posted it until now. Well, this dish does seem more appropriate for this time of year cause it’s warm and cozy. And yummmmmmmy! It’s also a lovely reminder to make it again :)

Overnight oats are so freakin’ easy and so freakin’ delicious, so you oat (bahahahahaha) to try them real freakin’ soon. You will love them. I promise.

For my first attempt, I used a recipe from the blog spinach4breakfast. Since then, I have altered the recipe a million times to try new taste sensations and/or to use what I have on hand and/or to add my own ingredient ideas. When I cook, I use a whole lot of ingredients. You’d never know it, but there are 10 ingredients in that bowl of goodness above. But, you can start simple. When you get the hang of it, go CRAZY and be CREATIVE!!!

By the way, you can eat them cold right from the fridge (if that doesn’t weird you out). See, easy easy easy! Let me know how your oats go!!!

Layers and layers of healthy goodness. You too can have this beautiful creation in a million different variations. I buy most of my dried goods from nuts.com and health food stores. And I like to mix up what I buy and try new things and then combine them all into my own random mix of trail. This one consists of: dried cranberries, raisins, dried pluots (plum/apricot hybrid), walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, tiger nuts (roots, not nuts), cacao nuts, banana chips, and roasted dried fava beans.

I do advise you to shake it up before eating … but then it doesn’t look as pretty as this. However, it tastes delicious and nutritious, and I suppose that’s what really matters ;)